1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electronic thermometer and particularly to an electronic thermometer intended for measurement of bodily temperature by using a disposable sheet-like probe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto known electronic thermometer is typified by one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54422/1980 (date of application: July 3, 1978; Application No. 54-84348).
The sheet-like probe as employed is constituted by a paper sheet base coated with a plastic insulation film. The probe includes a temperature sensor element disposed at a tip end thereof and a terminal array provided at an enlarged bottom or base portion, wherein the temperature sensor element is electrically connected to the terminal array through suitable interconnection. Except for the portion where the terminal array is located, the sheet-like probe body is coated with the plastic film.
The electronic thermometer includes a pair of oppositely disposed members adapted to be selectively closed and opened to or from each other. The terminal array portion or the sheet-like probe is adapted to be held in a sandwiched manner between the paired members in the closed state thereof, wherein the terminal array is electrically connected to an internal temperature signal processing circuit.
By way of example, the sheet-like probes are given to a number of clients in a hospital. Each client places the probe within his or her mouth to bodily heat the probe. After a duration sufficient for heating up the probe has elapsed, operator or personnel carrying the electronic thermometer body measures sequentially the bodily temperatures of the individual clients. More specifically, the terminal array portion of the probe is sandwiced between the paired holding members in the state the probe is held in place in the client's mouth, and subsequently a switch for initiating the temperature measurement is actuated. Then the temperature measuring circuit is activated to arithmetically determine the temperature detected by the sensor element, the results thereof being displayed on a display unit in a digital form.
The conventional electronic thermometer is implemented in a configuration adapted to be held by a hand. More specifically, the electronic thermometer is composed of a grip portion of a size suited for being held by a hand, a fixed jaw, and a manipulating lever for manipulating the movable jaw. The probe holding or sandwiching means is constituted by the fixed and movable jaws. By opening and closing the fixed and movable jaws, the terminal array portion of the probe can be sandwiched between the jaws.
In the case of the electronic thermometer in which the temperature measuring operation is initiated by actuating the associated switch provided to this end (and simultaneously the display of the value measured immediately before is reset), there arises a problem that upon successive measurements of the bodily temperatures of a large number of clients, the measurement initiating switch must be manipulated every time the measurement is to be performed, involving time consuming and troublesome labor. Further, operator or nurse frequently forgets the pressing of switch in the state in which a new probe is inserted, giving rise to error in the reading of temperature, to a serious problem.
As an approach to solve the problem mentioned above, there has been known an electronic thermometer of such a structure in which upon connection of the probe between electrodes mounted on the probe holding members, the temperature measuring operation sequence is automatically initiated. However, this type thermometer suffers a difficulty that external noise acting on the electrode tends to trigger erroneously the temperature measuring sequence.
Besides, the hitherto known electronic thermometer is of a large size and difficult to operate. A major cause for the large size of the thermometer does not resides in the volume of the incorporated circuit but the design concept for allowing the thermometer to be held by hand. To this end, the grip is necessarily of a large size. Of course, addition of the movable and fixed jaws and the projection lever increases further the size and weight of the thermometer structure as a whole. Such thermometer can no more be placed in a plastron pocket.
In this connection, it is emperically known that the manipulatability can not be enhanced by increasing the size of the grip portion. Suppose that a client having the probe place in mouth will move to and fro, making thus it difficult for the personnel to place the probe correctly in the thermometer held by a hand of operator. In contrast, the fingers can inherently control the fine movements far better than the hand. The hitherto known thermometer of a large size adapted to be manipulated by hand suffers difficultly that it can not follow the fine movements of the objective to be measured.
Further, presentation of a large size thermometer immediately in front of a client will give discomfortableness to the latter.